The Angels once again enter the deadline as clear sellers — this time with a new general manager in charge. Longtime Cardinals president John Mozeliak is in charge of the Halos front office on an interim basis after Perry Minasian was fired last month, and one of his areas of focus is bringing in a young player, per Ken Rosenthal and Will Sammon of The Athletic.
There’s no shortage of needs in the Angels’ system, but their catch production has been particularly anemic. The Angels hoped to address that need a few years ago with a rare trade of top controllable prospects that sent an outfielder. Brandon Marsh to Philadelphia in exchange Logan O’Hoppe back to the 2022 trade deadline. That looked like a potentially win-win trade for a while, especially with O’Hoppe hitting .244/.303/.409 with 20 homers and solid defense back in 2024. He has seen both his defense and offense decline.
O’Hoppe, 26, ripped 19 homers in a full-time career last year but slashed just .213/.258/.371 with a whopping 30.8% strikeout rate. He’s made a lot of contact this season, but the quality of that contact has been abysmal and O’Hoppe still isn’t drawing enough walks (6.9%) to offset his low strikeout rate. He’s averaging just 86.9 mph in at-bats with a paltry 36.4% hard-hit rate – marks nowhere near the solid 90.6 mph and 46.6% he showed in nearly 1200 plate appearances from 2023-25. O’Hoppe produced a weak .211/.275/.300 slash (61 wRC+) in 245 plate appearances this season while grading out as one of the game’s most ineffective defenders (-13 Defensive Runs Saved, -13 Fielding Run Value from Statcast).
The Angels control O’Hoppe for two more seasons beyond this current one, but with a .212/.264/.347 slash, -23 DRS and -24 FRV going back to last season, he’s a clear non-tender or trade candidate. Speaking of speculation, it is likely that another club could roll the dice on a transfer in the final few months of the current season. The mere fact that Anaheim is looking for a new long-term option at the position speaks to the realization that change is needed.
A new long-term option sounds like it will have to be acquired via the trade market, either in the next 10 days or early in the season. The Angels have four players ranked in the top 30 by Baseball America and MLB.com. No one is older than 20. one, Garrett Wrighthe was recently selected in the eighth round earlier this month. It is twenty years old Juan Flores is the most improved on the team but recently moved up to Double-A, where he is hitting .243/.264/.429 (82 wRC+) in 73 plate appearances and has yet to make a trip. Flores is a combination defender with poor marks for his hit tool, speed and power, making him a potential backup unless he can achieve something in the batter’s box.
Acquiring a quality catching prospect would be difficult for the Angels without a change in their usual approach at the deadline. We’ll learn next week—and whether Mozeliak will spark a turnaround—or, to be honest, whether owner Arte Moreno will give him the green light to do so. For more than a decade, the Angels have been staunchly resistant to trading players as more years of club control remain. They always hold on to attractive trade candidates until they reach free agency or see their value erode through injury and/or poor performance. Players love it Patrick Sandoval, Andrew Heaney, Luis Rengifo and, most famously, Shohei Ohtani could have gotten a solid (huge, in Ohtani’s case) return if moved at the right time. They haven’t, despite persistent losing records, and it’s part of the reason the Angels find themselves in this current situation.
There are at least some indications this time that the newly hired Mozeliak will be listening to manageable trade chips as a shortstop Zach Netoon the left Reid Detmers and the right hand José Soriano. Detmers and Soriano are controlled until 2028 – Neto until 2029. If the Angels could deal with all three (to say nothing of leases like Kirby Yates or controllable shortcuts such as Sam Bachman), they can overhaul the minor league system at once. Moreno has been unwilling to do so in the past.
“If,” but if Moreno gives the veteran Mozeliak a chance to do so, players like Neto, Detmers and Soriano will give him access to a wealth of catching prospects and other top league players. The Rays, in need of help at shortstop and in the rotation, have two of the game’s top catcher opportunities Caden Bodine again Nathan Flewelling. The Twins, who could be in the market for some replacement help and bullpen help, were recently drafted Vahn Lackey third overall. He can’t be traded right now, but he might be added to the program Eduardo Tait Is it easy to commit to a business? Mozeliak’s former organization in St. Louis went deep into the grips. The Cardinals are not moving Rainiel Rodriguezwho may be the best champion in the sport right now, but someone who is Jimmy Crooks it can have low acquisition costs and can go straight into the angel list. Rosenthal and Samson line up the Cubs’ Owen Ayers as another possibility that is probably good for MLB.
All those words are, of course, speculative. No one can pick up someone like Neto, Soriano or Detmers on their own. It is worth noting that the Angels will not hold back only focusing on new anglers. The system is weak from top to bottom, lacking in almost every area. Baseball America and MLB.com both list one prospect for the Angels (right-hander Tyler Bremner) in their latest 100 reviews. FanGraphs gives them three in the top 110 (Bremner, outfielder Hayden Alvarez and it’s okay George Klassen). The Athletic’s Keith Law is lefty Johnny Slawinski as his lone angel in his recently published 70 review. The Angels aren’t in a very picky position, but it’s worth noting that the young catcher is at or near the top of the front office’s wish list.
Whether Mozeliak can provide the boost the system needs is impossible to say yet. You may have listened to Neto, Detmers and Soriano … but will Moreno actually allow his temporary hire to change the future of the entire organization? We are about to find you.
